What do you do when an earthquake
strikes and you're 500ft up at the top of an extremely narrow building?
The answer is simple: run.
A
video released on Monday by the National Park Service shows the
panicked scenes at the top of the Washington Monument when the quake hit
on August 23.
Three
security camera videos taken 500 feet up show how the quake terrorised
the tourists and shook pieces of the monument down from the very top of
the structure.
Get outta here: Tourists scramble to reach the lower floors as the monument starts to shake wildly
After shocks: Debris and fallen masonry littered the monument when the shaking had ended
Young families could be seen scooping up their children and running down the stairs.
The stairs are narrow, it was a single only.
The 5.8-magnitude earthquake was centered 84 miles south west of D.C. in the town of Mineral, Virginia.
But
it did enough damage to close the Washington Monument to visitors for
the foreseeable future while repair crews get to work, NBC Washington
reports.
Mother Nature strikes: One of four big cracks opened up the quake. Days later, Hurricane Irene added to the tally
Crashing down: National Park Service spokesman shows examples of masonry that fell
Four stones near the top of the 555-foot monument were cracked in the earthquake.
Days later, Hurricane Irene punished the monument further with strong winds and extremely heavy rain.
That produced some flooding inside and caused more cracks.
Terror at the top: Tourists can be seen in a National Parks Service video running down the stairs as the quake strikes
The video lasts one minute and 55 seconds and the shaking continues from start to finish.
It appears in the video that the National Park ranger sitting at the top suddenly bolted before the tourists.
But the agency clarified her actions.
It
said she followed protocol by guiding visitors to the emergency exit
door on the 490 level, which opens inward, and then returned to the 500
level to ensure that all visitors were out.
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